- Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring) in Breaking Bad
- Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) in Breaking Bad
- Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) in Game Of Thrones
- Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) in Mad Men
- Jim Carter (Mr. Carson) in Downton Abbey
- Brendan Coyle (Mr. Bates) in Downton Abbey
MY THOUGHTS ON THE NOMINATIONS:
I'm pleased to report that I have seen all four of these shows and their respective nominated seasons so I can accurately judge all of them... Gustavo Fring is one of the best T.V. villains of all time and probably one of the best villains in media period. Esposito was fantastic being the focal point of Season 4 of Breaking Bad and was both menacing at one point and then charming as a mofo in the next. He was just fantastic... Normally I am not a big fan of perennial guys like Aaron Paul to be favorites to win these kinds of awards because after a certain point, a character is what he is, but not Paul in Season 4 of Breaking Bad. Jesse devolved into chaos after the ending events of Season 3 and become detached and then re-attached to society throughout Season 4. His performance was great... God I love Tyrion Lannister and Peter Dinklage. The guy is just so charming and you can't help but root for him no matter what endeavor he attempts or how vile it is. Dinklage showed great range and depth of emotion in Season Two. He could go into a monologue about how shitty his family was to him one minute (where all you wanted to do was give him a hug) to plotting and scheming for King's Landing in the next. I love Dinklage's performance... I loved Harris' performance of Lane Pryce this year on Mad Men and as much as I love Roger Sterling in general as well as his acid trip, I feel Harris deserving earned the "Mad Men spot" this year over John Slattery. The show was in a huge lull and it didn't pick up until the end of the season once Lane Pryce starting having his problems... I really like Brendan Coyle and his portrayal of Mr. Bates but holy shit was his story line in Season 2 awful and it dragged on forever- most of it off screen. It's hard to blame the actor for poor writing, but then again we credit the actor for good writing (see: Breaking Bad)... Jim Carter had a lot more to do as Mr. Carson this season but his performance seemed like a dime a dozen... If I *had* to choose one person from Downton Abbey I would choose Rob James-Collier as Thomas Barrow- but for seem reason he's not even eligible.
If I Had An Emmy Vote:
- Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring) in Breaking Bad
- Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) in Breaking Bad
- Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) in Game Of Thrones
- Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) in Mad Men
- John Slattery (Roger Sterling) in Mad Men
- Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson) in Homeland
NOTE: I really wanted to nominate Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) in Breaking Bad, Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) in Mad Men, and Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder) in Justified but holy crap is the field super deep this year. EDITOR'S UPDATE: After watching Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire I really want to put Michael Pitt (who plays Jimmy Darmody) on this list. The problem is that this category is so damn deep I don't know who I would remove. In an ideal world this category would allow for seven actors to get nominated like they did this year with Best Supporting Actress (Comedy). I also want to give a shout out to Jack Huston who plays the creepy and wonderful Richard Harrow. The show realized what a gem they found in Season 1 and I'm glad they added depth to him in Season 2. He's great.
MAJOR SNUBS:
With a super deep class it's hard to say anyone is a snub but to me I can't believe Mandy Patinkin didn't get nominated. Homeland's first season was excellent and it was in large part due to him. Downton Abbey is good but it is no Homeland. With Damian Lewis, Claire Daines, and the show itself all garnering nominations, it is a shame the seasoned veteran got nothing.
WHO WILL WIN / WHAT SHOULD WIN:
Who Will Win: Giancarlo Esposito
Who Should Win: Giancarlo Esposito
Aaron Paul won this award two years ago and with Breaking Bad not eligible last year Peter Dinklage won it last year. Normally the Emmy voters will continue to vote the previous winner but not only did the voters make major, unexpected changes (which was a great thing) with the nominations this year but with Margo Martindale winning the Best Supporting Actress Emmy last year for her fantastic performance as the evil and sly Mags Bennett for Justified I think Emmy voters are not afraid to vote for amazing short-term villains. All Emmy voters watch Breaking Bad and I think they will notice and recognize Esposito's performance. If for some reason Esposito does not win the award then Dinklage will.
MY THOUGHTS ON THE NOMINATIONS:
I'm pleased to report that I have seen all four of these shows and their respective nominated seasons so I can accurately judge all of them... Gustavo Fring is one of the best T.V. villains of all time and probably one of the best villains in media period. Esposito was fantastic being the focal point of Season 4 of Breaking Bad and was both menacing at one point and then charming as a mofo in the next. He was just fantastic... Normally I am not a big fan of perennial guys like Aaron Paul to be favorites to win these kinds of awards because after a certain point, a character is what he is, but not Paul in Season 4 of Breaking Bad. Jesse devolved into chaos after the ending events of Season 3 and become detached and then re-attached to society throughout Season 4. His performance was great... God I love Tyrion Lannister and Peter Dinklage. The guy is just so charming and you can't help but root for him no matter what endeavor he attempts or how vile it is. Dinklage showed great range and depth of emotion in Season Two. He could go into a monologue about how shitty his family was to him one minute (where all you wanted to do was give him a hug) to plotting and scheming for King's Landing in the next. I love Dinklage's performance... I loved Harris' performance of Lane Pryce this year on Mad Men and as much as I love Roger Sterling in general as well as his acid trip, I feel Harris deserving earned the "Mad Men spot" this year over John Slattery. The show was in a huge lull and it didn't pick up until the end of the season once Lane Pryce starting having his problems... I really like Brendan Coyle and his portrayal of Mr. Bates but holy shit was his story line in Season 2 awful and it dragged on forever- most of it off screen. It's hard to blame the actor for poor writing, but then again we credit the actor for good writing (see: Breaking Bad)... Jim Carter had a lot more to do as Mr. Carson this season but his performance seemed like a dime a dozen... If I *had* to choose one person from Downton Abbey I would choose Rob James-Collier as Thomas Barrow- but for seem reason he's not even eligible.
If I Had An Emmy Vote:
- Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo Fring) in Breaking Bad
- Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) in Breaking Bad
- Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) in Game Of Thrones
- Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) in Mad Men
- John Slattery (Roger Sterling) in Mad Men
- Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson) in Homeland
NOTE: I really wanted to nominate Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) in Breaking Bad, Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) in Mad Men, and Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder) in Justified but holy crap is the field super deep this year. EDITOR'S UPDATE: After watching Season 2 of Boardwalk Empire I really want to put Michael Pitt (who plays Jimmy Darmody) on this list. The problem is that this category is so damn deep I don't know who I would remove. In an ideal world this category would allow for seven actors to get nominated like they did this year with Best Supporting Actress (Comedy). I also want to give a shout out to Jack Huston who plays the creepy and wonderful Richard Harrow. The show realized what a gem they found in Season 1 and I'm glad they added depth to him in Season 2. He's great.
MAJOR SNUBS:
With a super deep class it's hard to say anyone is a snub but to me I can't believe Mandy Patinkin didn't get nominated. Homeland's first season was excellent and it was in large part due to him. Downton Abbey is good but it is no Homeland. With Damian Lewis, Claire Daines, and the show itself all garnering nominations, it is a shame the seasoned veteran got nothing.
WHO WILL WIN / WHAT SHOULD WIN:
Who Will Win: Giancarlo Esposito
Who Should Win: Giancarlo Esposito
Aaron Paul won this award two years ago and with Breaking Bad not eligible last year Peter Dinklage won it last year. Normally the Emmy voters will continue to vote the previous winner but not only did the voters make major, unexpected changes (which was a great thing) with the nominations this year but with Margo Martindale winning the Best Supporting Actress Emmy last year for her fantastic performance as the evil and sly Mags Bennett for Justified I think Emmy voters are not afraid to vote for amazing short-term villains. All Emmy voters watch Breaking Bad and I think they will notice and recognize Esposito's performance. If for some reason Esposito does not win the award then Dinklage will.
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